


Between Here and There

by helloshepard



Series: kaiju fic [4]
Category: Godzilla - All Media Types, Godzilla-Heisei Series (Movies), Godzilla-Millenium Series (Movies)
Genre: Character Death Fix, Crack Relationships, Getting to Know Each Other, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21857191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloshepard/pseuds/helloshepard
Summary: A prequel/parallel to myMothra/Biollante fics.in which Battra discovers he’s still alive, Mothra discovers Battra is still alive, and Battra meets his alien roommate.
Relationships: Battra (Godzilla)/Orga (Godzilla), Biollante/Mothra (Godzilla)
Series: kaiju fic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1417891
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Between Here and There

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, this is a prequel to [these fics,](https://soundwavereporting.tumblr.com/tagged/mothrabiofics) though you don't need to read it to understand what's going on. It's essentially a Heisei/Millenium crossover, giving me an opportunity to throw my crack ships into realized existence.

Battra had asked Mothra not to bring him back. He knew she _could—_ he had been born knowing Mothra’s abilities, as he had been born knowing his own. He had asked her when he knew he was about to die, as they hovered over the spot that had once been his grave, to not be brought back. 

And though he had sensed her hesitation, she had agreed.

Yet here he was. 

This was most likely Mothra’s island—reaching out a leg to prod at a rock, Battra could practically smell her—it was comforting, in a strange way, to know that he wasn’t alone. 

That she, at least, was alive. 

He had washed up on the shore hours ago, yet had remained still, taking the time to conserve what little of his energy remained. 

The island’s plants shifted in the wind, long stalks swaying in the breeze. He could hear animals, among the plants. Beyond that, he heard the deep, familiar hum of the earth and the galaxy, though it was notably…discordant. Not yet _angry_ ; nothing that would have warranted his revival. More than anything else, it felt _confused._

And there was something else, Battra realized as he continued to poke at the rock—something strange. An unfamiliar scent, lingering on the stone like a bad afterthought.

Battra didn’t recognize it. 

It was not even a _new_ smell, one of the billions that had been created during his hibernation. Those were familiar-yet-new; mixtures and variations of the same scents that had been a part of the planet when he was first created. 

This was totally foreign. 

_Alien_ entered his mind just as something lunged at him from beyond the treeline. 

He was tackled effortlessly, rolling partway into the water as this new creature mouthed his wings and head. Battra hissed, struggling to fight back—he was still weak and sore. _Vulnerable._ He felt sharp teeth examining the wounds in his neck and yelped, managing to shoot out a weak blast of energy as the alien bit down. 

Green blood trickled from his neck. His roar was ineffectual and weak—the alien didn’t seem to notice the threat, continuing to bite at him as snarled and protested. 

There was little new pain, Battra realized belatedly, as he managed another weak burst. Again, the alien paid no mind to him. 

Battra couldn’t even see its eyes: there were only massive claws the size of his head, and an equally enormous mouth, lined with small, sharp teeth. 

At once, it stopped, pulling away from him like it had been burned. Battra struggled to orient himself; he had been thrown back, partway into the ocean, burning the cuts in his throat and wings. 

Battra blinked, and saw Mothra. 

Relief flooded through him as Mothra approached. He could feel the shock at the forefront of her mind— _why was he here? how?_ And there was irritation at the alien—she _knew_ the alien?

She moved forward, bumping her head against his. Save for the things he knew innately, Mothra was one of the few familiar constants in his life, and for the first time, her presence did not make his scales itch. 

“How?” 

“I don’t know,” Battra said. He submitted to her examination of his body as she poked and prodded at his own scales. “You did not do it.” 

“No.” Mothra hesitated over the gash in his throat. It dripped blood still, but when Battra hissed and moved back, she relented and let it go. “But someone else has.” 

Battra relaxed, body sagging against hers as he felt the warmth of Mothra’s presence. He wanted to give in and sink back into the sand. To sleep. 

“Who is _that?”_ Battra asked, instead, inclining his head towards the alien. 

“I don’t know,” Mothra admitted. “I don’t think _he_ knows.” 

Battra glared at the alien, who stared blankly. 

“But he’s harmless,” Mothra was quick to add. “He’s…hungry.” 

Battra crept forward. The alien stared at him, remaining still as Battra got within biting range and prodded at him with a leg. Still, he could not pick up any familiar scent. There was the scent of electricity, but even that tasted strange. 

“The humans on his planet named him Orga.”

It huffed once, bending to sniff at Battra, who fought his instinctive urge to snap—at the very least, to hiss again. But Mothra seemed at ease with this alien, and he…trusted her. 

Probably. As far as he knew, she had never lied; to him or to anyone else. 

“His planet?” 

“From what he has been able to explain, he is an alien from another dimension.” Mothra said. “But we have not understood why. Or how.” 

Battra let the alien sniff at him. 

He was not like Mothra—he could not speak into minds as easily as she did, but what little he was able to sense from the alien was very nearly overwhelming. There was curiosity at the forefront of his thoughts, overshadowed only by an uncomfortable hunger, as though it had been eons since the creature had last ate. 

“What does he eat?” 

Mothra hesitated, speaking only when Battra turned to look at her. 

“He last tried to eat his planet’s Godzilla. To become…” Mothra blinked, studying the alien. Was it speaking to her? “Him. And he nearly succeeded.” 

Now that he was looking for it, he saw Godzilla in the creature’s eyes. They were so unlike his and Mothra’s, beady and dark, rather than large and bright. 

“Why?” 

“He said it was to…complete him.” Gently, Mothra pushed past Battra and bumped her head against the alien’s. “To conquer.” 

Battra snarled, and for the first time, the alien reacted with a whimpering bellow as it stumbled back. Its roar made his the wounds in his throat sting.

“He’s assured me he has no intention of following through,” Mothra said. “He will not do as he was programmed.” 

“Programmed?” 

“Can I show you?” 

Battra nodded, and Mothra moved from the alien—Orga, he supposed—to stand beside him. He gave Orga one final warning hiss before touching his head to Mothra’s. 

He watched patiently as images floated in his mind, feeling the familiar sensation of crushing water and aching loneliness, of being abruptly awakened— _created—_ to something he barely understood. 

Except…Orga was not someone, Battra realized. He had begun his life as many someones. And now he was some _one,_ created for a purpose he had not understood.

Battra understood. Sullenly, he withdrew, unwilling to inflict his own discomfort on Mothra. 

“I will not attack him,” Battra said, and Mothra seemed relieved. 

“Unless he attacks me first.” 

“He won’t,” Mothra said, and that seemed to be the end of that. “Now, come with me. You must be tired.” 

Battra followed Mothra deeper into the island, fully aware that the alien was following them. He did not dare take flight, not trusting his wings to keep him aloft. 

Battra had no desire to fall flat on his face in front of Mothra—or in front of the alien. 

He noticed the fairies watching him. Before, they had always been little more than targets he knew he needed to kill. Now, they stood proud for such little creatures, staring as he limped towards wherever Mothra was taking him. 

“Here.” 

_Here_ was the other edge of the island, but while the shore he had woken on was sandy, this was covered in smooth rocks. Orga seemed to recognize this place, trilling happily as he trudged to the cliff edge and flopped over onto his stomach, seeming to settle in and be content to do nothing more than allow the sun to shine on his skin. 

Mothra’s chosen spot was well-worn, smoother even than the other rocks. Battra settled beside her—privately, he was relieved, certain he would not have made it much further. 

This was…nice, perhaps. Certainly more pleasant than the uncomfortable half-wakeness of his hibernation under the sea, though this definitely felt uncomfortably impermanent. He could feel Mothra’s emotions churning as she thought beside him. 

Something had happened. Something serious enough to have her worried. 

“Did you stop it?” Battra asked. Mothra nodded. 

“Thank you.” Though he had lived, Battra doubted he would be strong enough to travel to space by the time the asteroid would appear—as he reached out, searching for the low hum he knew to be the asteroid, he heard nothing but silence. 

That would take some getting used to. 

“May I?” 

Battra nodded, unsure what Mothra was asking. He had to fight the urge to pull away as she began grooming him, licking away the dried blood that was encrusted on his scales. 

Mothra pushed him away when he tried to reciprocate. He relented, submitting to the mortifying ordeal of being groomed. 

This was what her kind did, Battra knew. He had seen them cleaning each other, using that time to commiserate and socialize. He owed it to her, Battra thought, to try. 

“You seem worried,” Battra said, to begin. Mothra paused briefly, leg frozen midair before bringing it gently down to scrape at a patch of dirt at the base of his horn. 

“Your hearing is getting better,” Mothra said. “I’m impressed.” 

Battra shifted his wings at the unexpected—if intentionally distracting—compliment. He gave in and flopped fully onto the stone. 

“I do not know how to explain what happened,” Mothra said. “Mostly, because I do not know myself.” 

Apparently satisfied, she moved from grooming the base of his head to the base of his wings. She tasted the salt-encrusted scales and recoiled, poking instead at them with her legs before clambering on top of him to resume cleaning his head. 

Rather than being frightening, as he had expected, the sensation of pressure on his body was soothing. He snuck a quick glance at the alien, who had not moved from his spot, before allowing himself to relax.

“He and another appeared a month ago,” Mothra said, pulling Battra from his thoughts. “She has been difficult to find, harder to calm. Someone the humans thought dead called to me, and now she lives in the desert. I was here to check up on Orga—finding you here was a coincidence. A happy one, but a coincidence.”

“If you had not been here…” 

Battra wanted to say he would have killed the alien. But he was too weak, exhausted from whatever had awoken him and pulled him from his grave. He would have been that thing’s meal. 

“But I was,” Mothra said. “And I will be back.” 

Battra craned his neck to look at Mothra. She radiated concern. Worry. Not only at him, but at the others—the ones scattered across the globe, lonely and wandering. 

“It is not your duty to protect them,” Battra said. “Do not exert yourself needlessly.” 

“I _want_ to protect them.” 

“Why?”

Apparently finished, Mothra stepped off him and onto her rock. She settled beside him once more, looking as though she planned to sleep, but her thoughts were still active. Frantic. 

“They reminded me of you,” she said, finally. “And…I wanted to help them when I could no longer help you.” 

“Then I will help you,” Battra said impulsively, but he meant it. At the very least, he could watch over the alien while he recovered. He did need to repay her for taking on his duties, after all. “It is the least I can do.” 

Mothra radiated surprise “I believed you would want to return to your hibernation,” she admitted. 

He had not even considered the possibility. Perhaps he feared that even if he _did_ try, whatever had woken him would do so once again. 

“No,” Battra said. “At least until I am fully healed. Besides, I doubt the planet would allow me to rest. Not now.”

Mothra nodded. 

“I had planned to leave tonight,” she said. “But I will stay with you until the morning. Is that alright?” 

“Of course. This is your island, is it not?” 

Mothra seemed to laugh, butting her head against Battra’s wing. He tucked his wings flat against his back, and she lifted her own wing to settle it over him. 

The sun was still high in the sky, but now seemed as good a time as any to rest. The alien appeared to have the same idea, though it was wise enough to stay on its side of the cliff, far enough away that Battra felt comfortable enough to close his eyes. 

Was this what Mothra’s species had done, he wondered. Settled together on a warm, flat rock during the day, slept until the sun went down? The few times he had been awake and not on a mission, he had given in to his desire to sleep while the sun was out and move when it was dark, and it seemed Mothra was the same. Did she miss doing this? 

For the first time in his very short life, Battra thought he might be feeling something akin to guilt. Until now, _guilt_ had been a foreign concept, understood in theory. Battra had not been born incapable of emotion, but now, he wished he had. 

For a moment, he wished he had been born being able to feel nothing but the pure rage that had fueled him for so long. 

“You have nothing to feel guilty about,” Mothra said. “You did not know any better.” 

“And now I do?” 

When he looked up, Mothra was watching him. Her eyes shone in the sunlight. 

“Yes. Now go to sleep, Battra.” Mothra pulled her wing away and moved back, settling more comfortably against the warm stone. “You can moralize in the evening.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated!


End file.
